Awóṣùsì Olúwábùkúnmi Abraham
On February 19, 2021, Àtẹ́lẹwọ́, a Yorùbá advocacy organization held a ceremony that celebrates the Yorùbá literati who have contributed immensely to the advancement of the language and culture and the selected writer for the Àtẹ́lẹwọ́ prize 2022.
The ceremony which held at the BNI building, University of Ibadan, began with a short introduction from the last year’s Ògbóǹtarìgì project which featured late Bàbá Láwuyì Ògúnníran, the author of the popular book—Egún Aláré.
After the introduction, the ceremony commenced with various events such as Yorùbá poetry rendition, book prizes for Yorùbá questions and also lectures on different topics by the high-table guests. This lecture also spurred various question-and-answer sessions where opinions about the Yorùbá language and culture were shared.
One of the guests, Professor Àrìnpé Adéjùmọ̀, spoke on the disintegration and proliferation of the Yorùbá culture even by the Yorùbá people and also the religious groups. She also cited different ways in which Yorùbá language can function more than just words but also a source of income. However, each lecture delivered by the high-table guests ended with an admonition to the Yorùbá people to always uphold their cultures and traditions.
Afterwards, the Àtẹ́lẹwọ́ organization unveiled the year’s Ògbóǹtarìgì which featured three prominent Yorùbá literati, namely; Professor Àrìnpé Gbẹ̀kẹ́lólú Adéjùmọ̀, a Yorùbá language lecturer at the University of Ibadan, who is also a researcher, critic, playwright and poet; Chief Bánjo Ebenezer Akinlabí, a Yorùbá author, journalist, broadcaster, and teacher; Chief Ọládàpọ̀ Ọlátúnbọ̀sún, a Yorùbá writer, playwright, oral/performance poet, record producer, publisher, and broadcaster.
After a short clip introduction from the Ògbóǹtarìgì documentaries, the Yorùbá veterans were separately presented the Àtẹ́lẹwọ́ award.
The prize giving ceremony immediately followed, and four different people were awarded in four categories which include; fiction, poetry, and translation.
The awardees were Anífowóṣe Zainab Olúwafúnmilọ́lá, for her manuscript, ‘Ìgbèyìn Ewúro’; Kafilah Ayọ̀bámí Fashola for her manuscript ‘Àbẹ̀ní’; Abdulkareem Jeleel Ọlásúnkànmí for his manuscript titled ‘Ewì Kọ̀bọmọjẹ́’; and Waliyuh Túndé Abímbólá for his manuscript, a translation of Anima Farm by George Orwell which he titled, ‘Oko Ẹranko’.
